Flandre's Melancholy
by shimonosu
Summary: Exiled from Gensokyo, forbidden from entering the underworld, hell and the outside world for her past mistake, Wandering the new world after her long solitude in self pity. Story takes about a thousand years after the events of eosd , Flandre will be out of character (mentally mature, able to fully control herself etc.) Story is about world-building, there won't be much action.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: 東方Project belongs to Team Shanghai Alice

This town seems as good as any, she told herself.

It was a rundown village in the north that found itself stuck in the middle of warring nations,

the outcome of the war would scarcely matter, the village was doomed.

The youth, you wouldn't be able to find them here.

The men were drafted, the women ran, only the elderly and the poor stayed, for they had no place to go.

Thankfully, the war was taking place in the winter, after the harvest.

More men drafted meant less mouths to feed during the winter.

Had it been in the autumn, in the harvest season, surely many would starve, even more would run, flooding the cities, spreading famine as if it's the plague.

Yet, the draft meant that the village was open to bandit raids, monster attacks and even mere animals that would come down to the village looking for food.

She stood there, kind of pitying the townsfolk, a monster like no other was approaching… A trueborn.

There goes nothing, she told herself as she descended from the sky in to the trail, made by the stomps of humans and livestock alike.

She didn't want to arrive flying over their fences, that would instill fear, more than needed, at the very least she would walk, not showing that she had flight.

She did have wings, yet, no one would ever think she could fly with them, they looked like long twigs, thin and wooden-like with gems of various colors aligned like leaves rather than feathers, they looked nothing organic and certainly not made for flying.

How she had flight she, herself did not know, it was something she could do for as long as she could remember.

Outside the fences, far from houses there was a mill, seemingly working, possibly grinding the year's harvest.

She wouldn't go there to meet the miller, millers were generally disliked and being seen with a monster would possibly ruin his life even further.

She started moving towards what seemed to be the door of the fence.

It was a pathetic thing really, whatever thing that fence was trying to protect the village from, even a wild boar could easily tear it down.

Taking notice, she moved on.


	2. Chapter 1

There was a person standing by the other side of the fence, probably a watcher, she thought.

In some villages, there would be a guard in rotation from amongst the townsfolk.

Not to fend the village, but to warn others from danger.

She greeted the villager with a smile, flashing her sharp canines ''good evenings.''

The villager noticeably tensed, she was a rather bulky woman, but kinda on the shorter side yet, she wasn't shorter than the monster, hardly anyone was.

After a short break ''evenin'' she replied. Her hand was going for her spear, it was a clumsily made spear with an arrowhead attached to it's tip, not a real spear.

''Could I enter?'' the monster asked.

The guard looked perplexed by the question. Then, she was terrified.

She knew that the smarter a monster is, the warier one must be.

And this one, seemed almost civilized, that terrified her.

She didn't think she could survive, yet, she ran. She ran faster than she ever had in her life. The monster didn't give chase, but she had no way of knowing that, she wouldn't look back.

The monster was growing tired of waiting, it has been almost half an hour since the watcher left, she decided to sit, after all, a sitting posture was less threatening than a standing one, not that she was tired, though she wouldn't admit even if she was.

She didn't like waiting, thoughts of going to the mill crossed her mind. She'd want a place to stay the night, even if she was nocturnal, she didn't like the cold.

As she was thinking, some people arrived by the fence.

She could instantly distinguish one of them as the village chef, or elder some villages called them, He was old and stern looking, way past his fifties, he looked wise, he still had his hair, yet it's colour had left him long ago.

One of them was the watcher she had met earlier and the other 2 were young men, possibly the only ones left in the village after the draft.

Plump one had brown hair, and he had a real spear in his hand, he was the chief's son, she deducted, fat and wealthy.

The taller boy had black and oily hair he was unkempt, and he was much leaner. Like the woman, he had a poorly-made spear with an arrowhead for its tip.

''Good evening, friends'' She greeted them all. ''Do you perchance have a place where i could stay the night?''


	3. Chapter 2

Clearly fearing the monster's response were he to reject it, he changed the topic.

''Stay the night?'' The elder fumbled, ''What are you''

''Oh, but a lost sheep, having lost my stead'' She answered, speaking of religion always calmed the smallfolk, besides, it was a way to avoid being called ''unholy''.

What do you want from us the plump kid asked.

''please leave'' The watcher from earlier pleaded.

Leave and go where? She thought to herself, it wouldn't change no matter where she went, she would be seen as a monster, she wasn't going to blame them, she was a monster.

If she was in their place, she thought, there is no way she'd let the monster in, especially if they knew what she did to her best friend, her only friend.

But from the looks of it, they needed her more than she needed them, the straw roofs on the houses were damaged, a good wind and they'd have the winter in their houses and there was a lack of manpower to fix it. Not only that, but the cold of winter would come and so would the levies.

They needed every bit of manpower to survive the winter, and she had more than that. Besides, even if they were sufficient by themselves, fighting with a monster would cripple their strength. ''I can read, and I can write, I can do manual labour and I can watch the gates, I may not look it, but I am strong''. Latter part of it was a subtle threat, or rather, a bluff. One that she didn't mean to follow up if they refused.

Youngsters protested, however the elder had the last word. He knew better than to take a fight with a sapient monster head on. He didn't believe her, but there was little he could do.

Without her, the village would succumb to bandits, deserting from the war. If she wasn't lying, the village had use for her, if she was… Well, at least a monster would kill, and bandits… They can do much worse.

If she wanted to, she could easily jump over the fence. Had he known more about vampires, he would absolutely refuse, not that this vampire even knew about the weakness of the common vampires, after all, her place had none.

Considering his options, ''You can stay the night in the miller's house''.

Thin man beside him mouth agape, shivering, but silent couldn't manage to utter a word.

It was settled, they'd use the miller as bait… The monster thought.

AN: Know that in the next chapters it'll be in Flandre's pov because I want to capture her feelings and thought process better, if that's not your thing, too bad.

(Weakness of common vampires refer to their inability of coming in without being invited which doesn't apply to Flandre)


	4. Chapter 3

I couldn't believe they'd let me in, it wasn't inside the village per se, but staying in a millhouse sounded a lot better than some damp, cold cave, infested with rats and the like. Staying outside was also a choice, but I didn't enjoy the cold, nor did I enjoy being bitten by mosquitoes, ironic, I know. It amused me for a week or two, but as the time went and the swellings itched more and more, it lost its charm. Not to mention having to defend myself from the occasional wild animals.

''Thank you for your hospitality'' I made a deep bow, lowering my wings.

I moved towards the mill, it wasn't far, about 2 minutes by foot, shorter by wings, but I was on my foot, I didn't value a minute more than I valued my stay in the village. After a few steps I noticed that the lean guy was following me, paying no mind, I marched on.

When I arrived by the miller's door, I knocked the door, I wasn't expecting anyone to be there, but it was manners not to go in before being invited, they would have to explain the situation to miller before I went in, so I knew no one was inside. Eventually the youth caught up to me and opened the door, it wasn't locked, a lock wouldn't be able to keep anyone out in such a house, a grown man could tear it apart, it would just be an unnecessary expense.

''So, you are the unlucky fellow?'' I asked him with a sad smile. I could feel his heart beat faster, it didn't take a vampire to hear that.

''What of if'' He replied and spat. I suppose courtesies mattered little to him, I didn't mind that.

I presented my arm, hand facing the ground. ''Name is Flandre Scarlet'' He didn't take my hand, I didn't expect him to.

''What an unholy name Scarlet is'' he spat.

I made a sad smile, ''It's the name I share with my sister, I value it''

He backed down, half scared, half guilty. Scared because he might've angered me, guilty because he went too far.

I could feel that he genuinely felt sad about what he said. He took my hand that he had left in the air and rotated it, that wasn't the gesture I was expecting but he gave my hand a firm shake. ''Name's Royce''. I couldn't help but chuckle, a village boy through and through.

I went inside before him, it was a simplistic place, not much more than a cottage. The whole thing was shorter than 2 meters and 7 people could barely stay abreast on it's short edge, there were no furniture, just a straw mattress, and a bucket.

A BUCKET! I did not like the bucket, I repeat, I did NOT like the bucket.

There were 4 openings with a wooden shutter, which counted as the house's windows, needless to say, they let the cold in. Maybe a cave wasn't so bad after all…


	5. Chapter 4

We didn't really speak after that, he avoided my eyes, as if what laid there was his demise, and I knew better than to challenge him to look, I knew how threatening the colour red could look, and I didn't want to sour our relationship any further. And since my arrival was in the evening, it was time to sleep.

Yet … I couldn't fall asleep, not just because I'm nocturnal, although it was certainly a factor, but the place was cold, the mattress was hard and uncomfortable, and the bucket was… disturbing me. That said, I was used to the cold, the hard ground, and even the bad smells like the kind that's coming from the bucket.

It was something else, and I didn't quite know what it was. But whatever it was, it appeared to also keep Royce awake.

''What are you doing?'' He asked.

I was fiddling with the watch I had brought, it's batteries long dead and it wasn't showing the time right, it was a chained silver pocket watch, the glass was cracked to the point where you couldn't even see the time when it died, truth be told, the day and night cycle here was different than in the outside world, where the watch was calibrated. So, it never showed true in the first place. Still, it reminded me of home, of outside world, of gensokyo. I did not want to explain what the device was for, and his human eyes couldn't have seen that I was holding something in the dark, so I just hid it.

''Nothing really.''

I replied with a mischievous smile. ''Just waiting for you to fall asleep, so I can devour your soul.''

Coming from a monster, it must've sound unnecessarily convincing, he looked scared, which made me feel guilty and I apologized, but right after, I couldn't help but take another jab.

''I don't devour souls'' I flashed my canines.

He looked to be terrified, so I stopped, replying honestly this time

''I was thinking about my home'' I sighed.

He did seem somewhat relieved, but not entirely. He still thinks of me as a monster.

I am.

I figured that acting like one would build more trust, after all, a silent bomb is scarier than a ticking one.

''How come you haven't been conscripted?'' I asked him. ''You seem like a strong lad.''

Truth be told, I knew the answer, they would need the miller to grind the crops, the lord would have him under his protection as his work is needed to get through winter, but I was just looking for some conversation.

Sure enough he confirmed. ''The crops needed millin' the elder defended me.''

''You should get some sleep'' I told him.

Life in a village started early, and a lack of sleep never made it any easier.

''Easy for you to say'' He complained.

I just ignored him and went to the mattress, ''Goodnight.''

I'd try to get some sleep, even if I wasn't used to sleeping in the night.


	6. Chapter 5

No! I screamed, but it was futile, mini hakkero of the blonde magician was pointing towards me, sucking light from the immediate area, everywhere turning pitch black excepting the mini-hakkero, which was shining bright, brighter than the sun itself, drowning the sun's light and sucking further, as if it's thirst could not be quenched by just a medium sized star, turning it pitch black as well. And then brightness, blinding eye-scorching brightness unlike which any star could produce, no matter how massive or how close. It was a full-blown Final Spark, not restrained by the spellcard rules, it's only purpose was to destroy whatever stood against it. And as it stands out, I was the thing that stood against it. I could fight back, I could if I wasn't in shock from the pain of my eyes burning, and the disbelief of Marisa doing something so drastic that is. I stood still as the light ate away at my skin, my flesh and finally my bones, leaving nothing of my being.

I woke up panting heavily, realized I was still in the cottage, of course I was, after all it was just a dream, there is no way Marisa could ever do something like that, but I wished she could, letting the light purify my sins as it purified my body to dust, didn't sound so bad after all.

But I knew it was impossible, Marisa wasn't here, no one was to be sure. But Marisa… She certainly wasn't.

With my shouting and panting, Royce was forcibly woken up. Looking to left and right to find the source of the danger, but even if there was a danger, the room was pitch black and human eyes were not particularly known for their ability to see in the darkness. Giving up on locating the source of the outrage, he asked ''What happened?''

''Sorry.'' was all I could manage, I had ruined his evening, and now his morning. A guest that didn't know her bounds was a sorrowful thing indeed…

''I just had a bad dream…'' I continued, ''about my homeland''

He didn't pry. I liked that he didn't pry.

It's not so much that I miss gensokyo, but I miss its habitants dearly, they would drink and fight, and play and fight, and sometimes, they'd drink, play and fight all at the same time, but none of the fights were ill-mannered. When I was with the bandit group, we fought.

And damn I didn't think humans could be so cruel. The villages were razed, the children were murdered and the women… I had fought with my own brothers to save a child of 12 from her terrible fate, ''the road brothers'' they used to call each other, and for every child that I could save from the road brothers that I was ashamedly a part in, a dozen more villager's daughters suffered on the hands of other such bandit groups.

For me, helping a village like this was a way to atone for my past mistakes, that's why I can't afford to inconvenience Royce any further...

AN: It's my exam week, sorry for the quality.


	7. Chapter 6

I left the mill house. One may argue that exploring the village by myself would not be such a good idea given my... Physical attributes. But the only person I could ask, Royce, was already disliked by the village. My arrival, however short I keep it, would already hurt his reputation, and walking with me to show the village would hurt it even further.

I could imagine even now how the village folk would spread rumors that I have ''enslaved'' him to do my evil biddings. Such was the stories mothers told their children about monsters.

The stories of fishermen and Hunters would hold closer to the truth than, the ridiculous tales that women tell to scare their children away from mischief.

They deal with monsters on a regular basis, Fishermen would have to deal with water gnomes, grotesque beings that drown people in the water before eating their viscera on the coast, and on the open sea, mermaids, pretty monsters that lure and drown men and drag them under the sea, what they do after, no one knows. And poachers, though they prefer to call themselves ''hunters'', they live by the game the forest provides, and the forest, is most treacherous. Home to many monsters each uglier than the other. And then there are fauns, they are known and feared by every hunter.

Half human half animal, bipedal, and pretty enough to the eye that you could think that they are human when you only see their head and torso. Their males are muscular, and the females have a healthy look to them. One thing that fisherman and hunters would never disagree on is the saying ''Fight the ugly ones, for they are faster than you are, and not as strong, and run away from the pretty ones, for you can't hope to win.

And it was true enough, in their minds I would be the latter, I wasn't expecting a fisherman or a hunter to like me, in fact, I wasn't expecting to find either in this small village, there were no lakes or oceans nearby, and the hunters wouldn't be known as hunters, they'd hide as poachers, unless the lord hired a professional to hunt for meat.

Again, in such a small village, it was unlikely.

But it wasn't only hunters and fisherman that knew of the saying, it was common sense, just better engrained in the minds of hunters and fishermen.

As I approached the gate of the fence, I noticed that the watcher had changed, today it was a fat woman in her 30s, dressed in rough tunic, which left lower part of her belly in the open when she was yawning.

It made me think whether she could run fast enough to warn the village should a monster threaten it.

She, like the watcher from yesterday, was carrying a wooden handle with an arrowhead on top of it, not a spear tip.

She had brown, medium length unkempt hair, that seemed greasy enough to cook meat with its oil.

She couldn't run half a meter... I thought to myself. This village wouldn't last until next year as things were.

''Good morning!'' I waved my hand flashing a smile, I did hide my canines this time, I didn't feel the need to scare anyone.

But she was terrified regardless, she raised her spear, and didn't reply.

Could it be that they didn't tell the villagers about my arrival? I'd think that they'd at least have the decency to tell about it to the day's watcher.

I kept moving towards the village, not that I wasn't scared of the spear, but the watcher didn't strike me as a person brave enough to attack me.

She warned me '' Back off!'' But I didn't listen, dismissively replying ''Yes, yes.''

I kept pushing on, opened the fence door and moved past her. I suddenly felt a sharp pain to the lower left side of my back.

I saw her running away from me, leaving the spear lodged in my back, I fell to my right, avoiding pushing the spear further by falling to my left.

I saw her figure running away from me. I concentrated on her, unbeknownst to her, her ''eye'' was in my left hand, one squeeze and she'd, she'd...

Images of Marisa came to my eye, her bright smile…

I let the eye dissolve, allowing her to escape, the pain was becoming too much. My vision faded, I heard shouting and footsteps, hurrying towards me.

I tasted iron and realized that I was gritting my teeth. When you grit hard enough with long and sharp canines like mine, you pierce your gums, I learnt that some odd 900 years ago.

I stopped gritting only to realize that the pain in my gums were the only thing that was keeping my attention away from the pain of my wound.

Soon the sounds and feelings also faded. I knew this feeling. I was going to faint. I simply let go, surely, I would feel no more pain after I fainted. It was welcome...

* * *

An: 1st fight scene will appear on the next chapter. If you like that kind of thing.


	8. Chapter 7

I woke up with the sun scorching my body through the shutter in the roof.

I looked around to see where I was. It was a rather large looking room with a door that made me assume that the room wasn't all there was to the building.

To my right I could see the elder, and to my left there was a plump woman in her late 50s that I didn't know.

She had a gentle smile, given that I'm thought of as a monster, it was a rare thing to witness. Yet elder looked nervous. Which was more of a response that I was used to get when interacting with people.

I felt something rubbing against where I was wounded, when i looked down there, i could see some wet,dirty rags, that was used to bandage the wound, and my clothes were replaced with rags, wrapped around the important places.

Not that I needed the bandaging, but the fact that they'd try to assist me, made me feel happy.

I tried to lift myself to a sitting position using my hands, and felt a sharp pain, again, in my left side. My kidney, I thought.

It horrified me, because I could guess what it was. Since the spear wasn't made from a proper spear head that would only break from a horse charging, but a disposable arrowhead, when the spear was pulled from me, it must have stood lodged in my kidney.

And the fact that i wasn't rampaging and still sane, meant that it didn't go far enough to reach my abdominal aorta.

Still, i felt that i needed blood to replenish the loss.

''Hey! Easy there'' said the older woman, trying to reach me with her hands. I ignored her.

I must've winced , i don't see another reason for her to try and stop me. I gritted through and forced myself into a sitting position, and after i stopped moving, pain also stopped.

I need to remove the arrowhead. But not here, because that'd filthy the bed, the house they took me in, it would be a betrayal to their hospitality, and there was a possibility that i could end up rampaging, like a few times i have in the past. And if it happened, i'd rather have it be in a remote area where i wouldn't hurt anyone that knows me.

It happened before and if not for the murderous wake left behind, i would know nothing about it.

''How do you feel'' The elder women asked me.

''I'll survive, i replied. If i checked the wound, i wouldn't even see a mark i knew, but the wounds shut from outside to inside on a vampire, which meant that i had to open it again to get the arrow out otherwise it'd keep hurting me, and in the worst case scenario, it'd make me lose enough blood to go rampaging.

I flashed a sad smile. ''I'd have atleast expected an apology from her.'' I looked down to gain more pity.

''Part of the blame lies on me.'' the elder interrupted.

''I didn't think you'd want to explore the village, so i didn't warn any of the townsfolk to avoid an uproar. I should've atleast warn the day's watcher.''

''It's not your fault.'' I assured the elder. ''Who stabs someone they barely know?''

The door opened, apparently she was standing behind the door, she looked genuinely sad, and a slight bit nervous. '' M'sorry.''

That was kinda dissappointing, one would think that she'd have prepared an apology for what she had done.

Maybe she just didn't know her manners, i thought.

I wasn't going to let it get to my head too much. ''It hurts to move, can someone help me get to the mill?'' I asked to no one in particular, to which the elder replied with ''Go fetch Royce, He ought to be in the alehouse by now, providing them with grains and drinking his share.''

''O-okay'' the fat woman responded. And i was left alone with the elder lady, after the elder left the room to attend his matters.

''What's your name dear?'' She asked me, i found it hard to believe that the elder wouldn't tell her my name, but i answered regardless. ''Flandre is fine, what's your's madam?'' I replied in a formal way because she didn't have the villager accent that the others had, I assumed that she was nobleborn, or atleast, not from around here.

''Marianne of Florence'' She replied, sure enough she was a noble.''But you can call me mary.''

''I thank you for your hospitality, your house is warm and it's the most comfortable bed i slept in.'' I said, it wasn't necessarily true, but it wasn't false either. It had been hundreds of years since i've slept in a proper bed, and a little courtesy with the lady of the village would go a long way.

After a little chatter i had learnt that the elder's real name was Matthieu, and he was her husband.

''And i think you'd be interested since you live with him, but Royce is my grand nephew.''

As she said that, Royce entered the room. I could see that he ran, judging by the sweat drops on his forehead and his uneven breaths.

''I'm sorry for asking Royce but i can't move comfortably yet, could you help me to the mill?'' I tried to look as helpless as i could.

''Of course.'' Came his answer, he didn't pry into what happened, and lent me a shoulder, but we were interrupted by Marianne, ''You can't go out like that, Here!'' She threw me a linen cape, way oversized for someone of my figure. ''You'll catch a cold!''

Whether she was genuinely worried about my health, or just worried about the villagers seeing my wings, i couldn't tell. But i guessed the latter.

Royce walked me to the cottage and aside from the sharp pain i endured from each step, it was uneventful.

* * *

AN: Med school finals are rough. Expect slower updates 'till i'm done.


End file.
